


"The Responsible One"

by panda013 (Amiria_Raven)



Series: Panda Does The Thing [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Identity Reveal, Mishaps, in which marinette was supposed to be responsible
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-03
Updated: 2016-03-03
Packaged: 2018-05-24 11:47:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6152704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amiria_Raven/pseuds/panda013
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Ladybug, "The Responsible One", is not-so-responsible.</p>
            </blockquote>





	"The Responsible One"

**Author's Note:**

  * For [megamegaturtle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/megamegaturtle/gifts).



> FROM TURTLE'S OUTLINE ON TUMBLR. That's why it's a gift to her. Because she's bae and let me use her outline.
> 
> It was supposed to be a drabble. And now it's over 6K. Oops.
> 
> Hope you enjoy it! Let it tide you over until I actually have time to finish Tikki's New Friend, yeah? xP

There was an unspoken agreement between them.

After Ladybug and Chat Noir had met for the first time, scaling the buildings and gamboling across the rooftops of Paris, it fell quickly into order. As Marinette, she’d always had a very strong sense of duty and, as Ladybug, there was the unspoken rule that she would always have to do the right thing. And again, as someone with a strong sense of duty, this didn’t bother her at all. This didn’t go unnoticed by Chat Noir, who quickly dubbed Ladybug as “The Responsible One”.

It rang true for months and months, and even for over a year…until vacation.

The Dupain-Cheng household had made the decision to go out of town for a while. Camping, fishing, whatever it was—Marinette didn’t really care. All had been quiet on the akuma front for a while and all she wanted was a few days away from responsibility and a few days with her family. She’d been spending less and less time with them, and she was starved for their attention, despite the fact that they always lovingly gave it.

She also wanted an outdoor experience _without_ the hustle and bustle of the city just feet away, beyond the boundaries of the park. And she could do with a few days away from her computer, and studying, and everything. She felt like she was going stir-crazy, being cooped up for so long.

She didn’t realize until they were an hour away from Paris that she had forgotten to tell Chat Noir.

The train trundled along and she stiffened in her seat as the realization washed over her. She excused herself from her parents and rushed to the bathroom, snagging her purse in her flight. When she had closed the door behind her, she opened the bag.

“Tikki!” she cried frantically. “Shit, Tikki, I forgot to tell Chat Noir that I’d be out of town!”

The little red bug blinked at Marinette’s language, and then her eyes widened slightly at the new information.

But Tikki was a sweetheart with a sweet-tooth and she couldn’t find it in her to scold Marinette too harshly. “I’m sure it won’t hurt this time,” she said instead, zooming up to lightly kiss her charge’s forehead. “Just be sure to remember next time, and I’ll try to be better. I forgot about telling him, too, after all.”

“Well…if you’re sure,” the petite designer took a moment to breathe. And then, with a soft grin, she said those ages-old famous last words:

_“What’s the worst that could happen?”_

Chat was, after all, in Paris. And she was _Ladybug_ , the luckiest girl in the _world_ , so there was no way that her city would be completely lost without her for just the next few days. Chat Noir was capable. Surely he’d find a way to keep things under control, right?

* * *

_Wrong_.

Just because Ladybug was Marinette and Marinette was Ladybug didn’t mean she got that lucky streak _all the time_ , no matter how much it would have helped out. If she was truly that lucky, maybe her problems with Adrien would have already been _solved_. But she didn’t think about that here, she didn’t consider it _now_ , because she was already on a train and she couldn’t go back. She just trusted the luck of Ladybug, and her kwami, and settled back into her seat to catch up on some reading.

Unfortunately for her, the divine powers-that-be decided that sometimes, just sometimes, it was fun to fuck with the luckiest girl in the world.

* * *

Adrien and his father were eating lunch together. Adrien tried not to get his hopes up because these occasions were so very rare and always, always short-lived. It was hard when Gabriel Agreste had been sitting there with him for a full twenty minutes and showed no signs of leaving, even though he had finished his meal. He was reading the morning paper, but even though Adrien couldn’t see his father’s face, just the fact that he was still _there_ made him giddy with glee.

And then the impossible happened.

Gabriel Agreste put his paper down and looked _directly at Adrien_. The blond’s breath caught—was he in trouble? Was he doing something wrong? Had his grade report not been satisfactory?

“Pack your things, son,” the older man said, pushing himself up from his chair. “I want to go fishing.”

Adrien shot out of his seat as his father left the room and found himself gaping blankly at the older Agreste’s retreating form. There were so many things from this morning that seemed like they had come straight from his dreams. The first being that he and his father had been in the same room for half an hour, then the fact that his father had spoken _directly to him_ instead of going through Nathalie, and finally…his dad wanted to go _fishing_.

They…they hadn’t been fishing together since Mom had gone to buy milk and never returned.

He didn’t even remember leaving the dining hall. The next thing he knew, Adrien was throwing clothes into a suitcase with his heart pounding in his ears. He would get to spend some quality time with his _dad_ , some one-on-one time he hadn’t seen in _years_. And when he bounded back downstairs, packed and ready to go, he saw his own surprise mirrored in Nathalie’s face as his father told her that she wouldn’t be needed for the weekend.

He wondered how long it had been since Nathalie, or any of the other household staff for that matter, had been given any time off. But he didn’t have much time to ponder, because he was clambering into the car and the Gorilla took them to the train station, per the older Agreste’s request. And then his jaw dropped when he was informed that he had the weekend off, too, until Sunday night when the father-son duo would be returning.

He didn’t have time to tell Ladybug, but Paris would be fine. She was the responsible one, so even if he left her alone, nothing could _possibly_ go wrong.

* * *

And for a while, nothing did.

Both were eager to spend a nice weekend with their respective families, and when they arrived to their destination, they breathe deeply of the fresh air. It had been such a long time since either of them had the opportunity to do anything like this, to be free of responsibility and the weights of duty.

* * *

The Dupain-Cheng family found their way to the small cabin that they had rented for the weekend, airing it out and placing their bags in their respective rooms while examining the living space. After a few hours, they made a family decision to go on a walk around the grounds, and so they did that, too. Marinette tripped more times than she thought should have been possible, but her parents always helped her back up with grins, her mother helping dust off the dirt or woodchips from the trail as her father kindly ruffled her hair.

It was nice.

When they got back to the cabin, they cooked lunch together. That was another thing Marinette hadn’t been able to do in a very long time because of homework and her duties as Ladybug. She was usually out dealing with something while her mother or her mother and father prepared their midday meal, or stuck at school as Alya gave her another pep talk. Another fun part about cooking together was that it was fun watching her parents interact and goof off with each other, like two kids in love.

She allowed herself a few minutes during their lunch to imagine what it would be like if Adrien were here, and if the two of them were acting like her parents. It was a nice mental image, and she sighed before her parents’ inquiry drew her back to the table.

“What was that sigh for?” her mother raised a slender, knowing eyebrow.

“Did you have other plans this weekend with your friends?” her father cocked his head in curiosity, not following the same train of thought as her mother. She could tell by the looks in their eyes.

“No, Papa, I didn’t have any other plans!” Marinette giggled, “I was just thinking about…a drama I watched with Alya!”

She tried to ignore the way her mother narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Sabine seemed to let it slide, then, as the family finished their meal, turned on a movie, and pulled out a stash of board games. Marinette prepared herself to take a beating.

She might be the ace at _Ultimate Mecha Strike III_ , but her father would _crush_ her in _Monopoly_.

And she was right. Once he had done that, she finally glanced at her phone briefly and tapped out a reply to Alya’s message, telling her that they had arrived fine, before following where her mother beckoned.

And then she was mortified as Sabine asked her about boys and why she was too shy to talk about them around her father. She teased about the crush she had on Adrien, about the posters, about the times Adrien had visited to study or to train for the game tournament, and Marinette tried to shut her out. She couldn’t just get up and leave, though, because her mother hadn’t started the topic until he had already brushed out Marinette’s hair and started to braid it.

After another round of board games, her father ushered her mother to take a nice bath and as soon as the woman was out of the way, he pulled his daughter over to help him cook dinner. She giggled as they bustled around the kitchen, aiming to finish before her mother left the bathroom. Marinette popped into her room to change into a clean shirt after they splattered it with alfredo sauce, and grinned at the way Tikki was snoozing contentedly, her belly noticeably full and a half-eaten cookie beside her.

Marinette clearly remembered leaving three cookies, so she knew how full the tiny kwami must be if there was only half of one left.

And then, when she returns, her father had already set the table and her mother had returned from the bathroom. Sabine Cheng complained that they should have let her help, but Marinette slipped behind her and pushed her to her chair.

“Surprise, Maman!” she chirped, grinning, as the big French man sat the food in the center of the table and Marinette flounced over to help. She let him grab the tea, knowing how clumsy she was, and she handled another part of the meal without incident. After everything was ready, they sat down to eat.

As she fell into bed, she felt happy and content and everything was perfect.

* * *

Adrien stood awkwardly just to the side of the doorway as his father surveyed the old family vacation house. They’d owned it for as long as he could remember, but it had been several years since they’d been out this far in order to stay in it for the weekend. There wasn’t a cleaning staff and they had no attendants with them, so the model assumed they’d be doing some cleaning.

Awkward was probably an understatement, if he was honest. They hadn’t spoken on the entire ride to the house, after all.

He just hadn’t expected _the_ Gabriel Agreste to roll up his sleeves and start dusting off some of the old picture frames as he made his way to the hall closet, where Adrien vaguely recalled that cleaning supplies was stored. And, with a soft smile to himself as his father turned and looked at him expectantly, already sliding on a pair of rubber gloves, Adrien rushed forward to do the same.

Cleaning was awful, but it wasn’t too bad when his father was there to help.

At first, the usual silence falls between them as they work, with Gabriel occasionally directing his son to clean something else or open a window to air out the house. Adrien fell into the work with good grace. It was rare for his father to even speak to him directly, so he would take what he could get.

As the time ticked by, Adrien found a slight rhythm in communicating with his father. It synced with his cleaning pace, and he was becoming… _comfortable_.

His father commented on the old broom, almost with disdain, and Adrien couldn’t help himself.

“Antique brooms: the cleaning sensation that’s sweeping the nation!”

As soon as it left his mouth, the blond teen froze and raised his green eyes slowly to his silent father. The man stared at Adrien for one long moment.

Two long moments.

And then…he snorted.

“Son, can’t you do better than _that_?” the designer asked, placing his hands haughtily on his hips as the corner of his mouth quirked up and Adrien’s heart screeched to a halt. “I could _mop_ the floor with you.”

Adrien was nearly choking on air, but elation was rising in his gut as he fumbled for more.

“Not if I leave you in the _dust_ ,” he retorted, breathlessly, rising to his full height and mimicking his father’s stance. Gabriel Agreste raised a single, slim eyebrow.

“Really, son, you’d best _clean up_ your act,” the older man smoothly cocked his hip and crossed his arms—a challenge if Adrien ever saw one. “I’d hate to have to _take out the trash_ all by myself, you know.”

For the first time in a long, long time, he and his father were both smiling, and the rush of glee was nearly enough to choke him. Adrien held onto this moment, though, determined to make it last, as they continued trash talking each other with cleaning puns while they worked. It sure made the time seem to fly.

It still took them a few hours to air out all the rooms, but when they were done, Gabriel handed Adrien a local phone book and told him to find a few pizza places while he pulled out a tablet to do the same on the spotty WiFi network. And then, to the model’s surprise, they settled on a pizza and ordered one, flipping on the TV and settling down to watch…together.

 _Together_ …!

As he fell into his mattress that night, Adrien knew that he couldn’t ask for anything better. Maybe it wouldn’t continue this way, but the beginning to this vacation had been _purrfect_.

* * *

When Marinette woke up in the morning, she felt incredibly refreshed. She sat up and stretched, and her movements jostled Tikki, who stirred, yawning.

“Good morning, Marinette!” the kwami piped up, slowly rising into the air.

“Good morning, Tikki,” the girl returned, giggling as the red creature floated in a lazy, tired circle. Marinette glanced at the clock next to the bed and saw that it was almost ten in the morning. She was mildly surprised that her parents hadn’t come to wake her up yet. She stifled her yawn and wandered into the kitchen, and the hastily scrawled note on the cabinet answered her musings.

_Marinette—_

_Papa and I went to help out a local bakery. They’re old friends and we ran into them in town this morning when we went to buy a few groceries. They just got a big order and it will take most of the day. Your breakfast is on a plate in the refrigerator, so you can just heat it up in the microwave!_

_Have fun today! And remember your phone if you go out!_

_Love,_

_Maman_

“We’re not even at the bakery and Maman and Papa find work!” she tossed her hands in the air, and Tikki giggled a little.

“Now I know where you get your work ethic from!” the kwami quipped lightly, doing a backflip in mid-air. “After breakfast, we should go on a walk!”

Marinette grinned and nodded excitedly. “A nice, long walk, I think!” she agreed instantly, recalling a few well-trodden paths she had spied between the trees the night before, and a few that she and her parents had bypassed on their walk the night before. “I saw a few little paths on the way here that I’d really like to explore!”

The duo ate quickly before Marinette got changed, and then they headed out the doors, giggling and talking softly.

* * *

When Adrien woke up, the house was eerily silent. Normally he could hear Nathalie puttering around somewhere, or she’d be waking him up, but not today. It took him a few moments to realize that the ceiling wasn’t the one he usually woke up to, and then he remembered that he was on a vacation. Alone. With his father.

But the house was still eerily quiet.

Adrien pulled himself out of bed, yawning, as he wandered out of his room and down the hall. He peered in doorways as he passed and listened for any sounds, but heard nothing. When he reached the kitchen, he found a note on the refrigerator door.

_Adrien—_

_Unfortunately, I have a tele-conference that I cannot refuse. I will be in the soundproofed room at the rear of the house for most of the day, so please do not disturb me. You’re free to go down to the town or take a walk, but take care not to burn and remember your phone._

Well…at least he’d thought to inform Adrien. And with a _handwritten_ note. Adrien didn’t think he’d seen his father’s handwriting in _years_ unless it was on an official document he’d had to have signed for school or work. Even if it meant that he didn’t get to spend time with his father today, it was still a sign that his father cared enough to worry. Even if it was about his skin and his modelling, he’d take it.

Rubbing his eyes as he yawned again, Adrien opened the fridge door and peered inside. It was unorthodox, but a moment later he had pulled a single slice of cold pizza from the box on the shelf, closed the refrigerator, and started to eat on his way back to the room. He almost forgot to grab some cheese for Plagg, but he paused to grab some before making his way to get dressed.

The lazy cat kwami was just stirring from his spot on Adrien’s spare pillow when the boy returned to the room. Plagg’s nose twitched, and in seconds, he was zooming for Adrien.

“Good morning, cheese!” he chimed in a sing-song tone, colliding with the cheese that his partner was holding and quickly zooming away with it in his arms. “It isn’t camembert, but it’ll work this time!”

“We don’t have camembert out here,” Adrien deadpanned through a mouthful of pizza.

“Exactly,” Plagg returned easily, mouth equally full of cheese.

When they had finished their impromptu breakfast, Adrien found his eyes drawn to the vast expanse of foliage that spread out around them. The view from his window was pretty phenomenal, and he had a sudden urge to go exploring, and climbing…and what better way to climb than by sharpening his claws?

“Hey, Plagg…wanna transform?”

The kwami perked up, green eyes examining the mischievous tilt in Adrien’s features before mirroring them. If Ladybug were here, they’d both have hell to pay…but it would be so fun.

“Let’s go!” the little black cat cheered, and in moments, Chat Noir was diving out of the window of the Agreste mansion, phone in one of his pockets and laughter bubbling out behind him.

* * *

Two roads converged in a very green wood, and two teenagers were exploring those separate roads. The boy was bounding through the trees, gamboling about and brimming with playful energy, and the girl was twirling and giggling with a floating red creature trailing at her side. Her pigtails bounced with each step, and his laughter grew louder the farther he traveled.

And like the moth to the flame, they’re drawn—drawn to that one central meeting place.

* * *

Marinette wasn’t paying much attention. In fact, she had just spun to walk backwards and admire the direction she’d come from when something solid and in motion bumped into her. Both she and the other person—or so she assumed—went sprawling in a tumble of limbs as Tikki gasped and darted out of sight.

“Ow!”

“Me-owch!”

At the sound of the other person’s pain, and that very familiar voice, Marinette felt her heart stopping. She turned her head so quickly that one of her pigtails actually smacked her in the cheek, and she saw his ears and hair swish from how quickly he’d turned. His eyes widened.

“Princess! What are you doing here?” he asked, blinking several times in quick succession before standing up and offering her a hand with a flourish.

“ _Why aren’t you in Paris?!_ ” were the first words Marinette was coherent enough to utter.

Chat Noir was extremely happy to see her—it was kind of obvious. She wondered why he was here and who he was with, and why on earth he’d left them to gallivant around as Chat Noir in the middle of nowhere.

She also wanted to know _why he wasn’t in Paris_.

 _WHY_?

_WHY WAS HE HERE?_

“Never fear, Princess. There’s nothing to worry about with Ladybug still in Paris!” he offers easily, snatching one of her flailing hands and pulling her to her feet. “She’s the responsible one, after all!”

“Y…yeah…” she found herself mumbling, and then she started chuckling awkwardly. “Yeah, hahaha…haha…yeah. Totally. Hahahaha, she’s the responsible…one…”

He quirked his head at her actions, his ears twitching in curiosity, but he didn’t ask and Marinette took a moment to compose herself.

He was here. She was here. It was only for a few days, and he _could_ be pretty fun to hang out with. When he wasn’t being insufferable, that was.

“Hey, Chat Noir,” she finally said, peering up at him, “wanna hang out?”

At the question, she saw his every muscle relax and then tighten as he danced in a cheerful circle, exclaiming his approval. She rolled her eyes, muttering, “Down, kitty!” as she did so. He just cheekily laughed it off and gamboled ahead of her on all fours with a cheerful grin before straightening.

When Marinette caught up to him, he sauntered casually at her side and started up a conversation. She let herself enjoy this super relaxed side of Chat Noir. He seemed so completely _free_ that she felt like she was seeing more of him than ever. He was also acting more childish than ever, but she’d let him get away with it for now.

He didn’t know she was Ladybug, after all.

And Adrien, for his part, found that hanging out with a relaxed Marinette was so much more fun than he had imagined. Normally, his classmate could scarcely string a coherent sentence together around him for some reason or another, but here, she was confident and sassy, easily joking around with him. He liked that about her.

He kind of wished she knew he was Adrien underneath the guise of Chat Noir.

* * *

“Awww, c’mon!” Chat Noir whined at her, his tail drooping and ears mimicking it. “One more try! I’m sure I can skip it more times than you!”

“I’ve beaten you six times already,” Marinette said, grinning as she cocked a hip and placed her hand on it. She tossed the flat rock in her hand up and caught it, repeating the gesture. “I am the Queen of skipping rocks!”

“Fine,” Chat pouted, and Marinette raised a fist in victory, giggling, “I give, but you have to tell me who your favorite Sailor Scout is!”

Marinette blinked, looking at him in confusion for a moment before laughing. “Sailor V, duh!”

Chat Noir feigned offense, gasping and clutching at his heart. “How _dare_ you betray me, Princess!”

“What? How?” she tossed her final rock out across the river, watching as it skipped a measly four times before focusing her attention on the leather-clad boy next to her.

“Everyone knows that Usagi is the best Sailor Scout!” he declared, standing tall with fists on his hips. “Sailor Moon has all the best gadgets, and attacks, _and_ she’s a princess, just like you!” he winked, and against her will Marinette felt the blood rushing to her cheeks.

She ignored the blush for the sake of arguing her case.

“She’s just got a huge case of main character syndrome!” she waved her hand dismissively. “Sailor Venus was popular before the other Sailor Scouts even _knew_ what the Sailor Scouts were! She had everything figured out and was just waiting for them to get back up to speed!”

“It’s not Usagi’s fault that their memories were gone!” Chat pouted. “Besides, she proves that you don’t have to be smart, or absolutely gorgeous, or _anything_ to be a great person and do great things. She just has a way of drawing people together, and I like that.”

“I guess I can see that,” Marinette conceded, unable to continue her previous plan of attack at the soft look Chat Noir had in his eyes. When she acquiesced, his posture straightened and he opened his mouth excitedly, so she quickly cut in, “I’m still going to like Sailor Venus better, though.”

He sighed. “I guess I can take that,” he paused. “For now, anyway.”

Marinette couldn’t help giggling at him, shoving him lightly in the shoulder as they started to wander back along the path. She found herself loving this time with him. Hanging out with Chat Noir had been a lot more fun than she’d anticipated, and now that it would inevitably end soon, she didn’t really want it to end.

Apparently he was thinking the same thing.

“You know…we should totally hang out more often, Marinette,” he suggested.

To keep herself from immediately and wistfully agreeing, she wracked her brains for a solution. Finally she settled on teasingly asking, “While you’re in costume?” while reaching up to tweak one of his leather ears.

He chuckled and nudged her, winking, as he said, “Maybe I’ll come visit you on your balcony!”

“My parents would _kill_ me!” she laughed back.

“I wouldn’t get caught! You _fur_ get, Princess, cats are sneaky creatures!”

“Sure,” she rolled her eyes playfully, laughing.

They continued to playfully bicker until they found the split in the path once more, and they turned to look back the way they had come from. Marinette had been having so much fun, and she could tell he had been, too. She almost opened her mouth to suggest they hang out again after supper, or even tomorrow, but then her blood ran cold.

Screaming in the distance.

_This is the worst._

_This is the worst possible thing._

_We’re not even in Paris and there’s screaming and we’re both running towards it and has he even noticed I’m with him?_

The superhero in her wouldn’t let her ignore it, and Chat Noir was loping gracefully at her side, sometimes on two legs and sometimes on all fours, dashing towards the source of the screams just like they would if she was bedecked in her usual red and black. It felt almost _normal_ even though she was just Marinette right now.

Marinette skidded to a halt as the clearing ahead opened up.

Screaming campers were fleeing past them in all directions, save for the ones who had been caught in various traps. Cages were _everywhere_ and from the way they just kept popping up out of nowhere, Marinette had a sinking feeling that she knew exactly why it seemed like _magic_.

“ _This will teach you all to illegally trap animals in my park!_ ” a voice boomed over the clearing. “ _You can call me the Trapper! And I’ll be trapping YOU_!”

A cage clanged to the ground not three feet in front of where she and Chat Noir stood, and he grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her back among the trees and ducking out of sight.

“ _LADYBUG ISN’T HERE AND THERE’S AN AKUMA! WHY IS THERE AN AKUMA?!_ ” he whisper-shouted at Marinette, as if she had the answers. “ _WHY IS THERE AN AKUMA HERE?!”_

More screaming, and a peek—before Chat Noir cursed and pulled her back out of sight—showed that more people being caught in traps. Chat Noir wouldn’t be able to free everyone alone, and even though she knew she could get somewhere and transform, she knew he wouldn’t want to let her out of his sight in this situation.

Especially not after spending the entire day just hanging out with her.

Cursing inwardly, she knew what her only course of action was.

As Chat Noir continued mumbling about the akuma’s presence and wondering why on earth it was here and what he was going to do without Ladybug, she called to Tikki. In a flash of light, she was standing in her spotted garb and his mumbling had trailed to a garbled mess before he finally ended with a slack-jawed, “ _Wh…aaaaat_?”

Trying to hid her nervousness, Ladybug just smiles at him and winks.

“’Sup, Kitty Cat?”

He gaped at her like a fish out of water. His mouth opened once, twice, thrice, before he could find the words. ****

“ _WHY AREN’T YOU IN PARIS?!”_

Marinette— _Ladybug_ —didn’t answer that just yet as she dove into the fray. Fumblingly, Chat Noir followed.

Within minutes, the akumatized park ranger was returned to normal, the butterfly purified, and the duo had to deal with the thanks of all the random tourists and citizens of the nearby town. They fielded questions, assured the people of their safety, and dashed off into the trees just as Ladybug’s second-to-last dot disappeared. The sun was already going down through the trees and she cursed as the last dot started to beep in her ear. Chat’s ring wass flashing and in unison, as they stumbled to a gasping halt somewhere in the trees, pink and green lights filled the air.

All it took was a flash. As Marinette was blinking the lights out of her eyes, she heard an exhausted but tiny male voice shout for Tikki, and the first thing she saw when she finally got the spots to go away was a tiny black cat floating in the air and hugging her kwami. Both of them were laughing, and she couldn’t help but grin.

And then her eyes lit on the blond boy, leaning against a nearby tree in the dusk, the last rays of sun flickering through the trees and falling on his face.

Her cheeks _burned_.

“A-A- _Adrien_?!” she nearly shrieked. Internally, Marinette was freaking out.

_CHAT NOIR IS ADRIEN. ADRIEN IS CHAT NOIR. OH MY GOD. OHMYGOD._

_I JUST SPENT THE ENTIRE DAY WITH ADRIEN!_

The model grinned, almost sheepishly, and waggled his fingers with a long, drawn-out, “Hiiiii…”

She just gaped at him, and Adrien stared back at her. Both of them were struggling to wrap their minds around everything that had just happened. It was hard for her to reconcile that the guy she liked was a leather-clad cat boy that flirted with her when she wore red and black polka-dotted spandex.

Marinette’s mind was positively spinning with the knowledge.

Adrien was Chat Noir.

Chat Noir flirted with Ladybug.

Ladybug was Marinette.

Marinette liked Adrien.

Adrien flirted with Marinette.

 _This is going to take ten years to get used to_.

Adrien’s mind wasn’t much clearer. He was still reeling from the amazing day he’d spent with his amazing classmate—granted, he’d been behind the protective shell of his Chat Noir costume the entire time, but still. And that same amazing classmate of his had turned out to be _the love of his life_ and he wasn’t sure what to do because yeah, Marinette was _fucking awesome_ , but she was also Ladybug, and seeing the two sides of her merging into one was a little strange.

He honestly wasn’t sure what to do with this knowledge.

Marinette was Ladybug.

Ladybug repelled Chat Noir’s advances.

Chat Noir was Adrien.

Adrien never really had long conversations with Marinette.

Adrien kept getting rejected by Marinette.

But maybe she didn’t know his advances had been serious, since he’d never actually gotten his confession out on Valentine’s Day? He hoped she thought he was kidding.

But there wasn’t much more time to dwell on it, because there was a rustling in the trees, and shouting. The two civilian superheroes leapt towards each other, back to back, as they try to understand the words.

“ _—inette! Marinette, where are you?”_

_“Adrien!”_

_“Marinette! Adrien!”_

They stood up and shared a confused glance.

“Is that—“ Adrien was going to ask if it was Marinette’s parents, but then three figures burst through the bushes nearby and Marinette stumbled into Adrien’s arms with a strangled yelp. He instantly wrapped his arms around her, trying to figure out who or what had stumbled across them during their epiphanies, and his eyes widened.

Tangled in a mass of limbs and leaves and twigs on the ground were Tom and Sabine Dupain-Cheng and Gabriel Agreste. They looked up at their children, blinking rapidly, before Sabine somehow managed to extricate herself gracefully from the pile and lunged forward, taking the kids into her arms, ignoring the fact that Adrien’s arms were still wrapped around Marinette.

“Did you both get lost out here?!” she asked, her voice trembling slightly. “How long were you lost?! You have your phone, but you weren’t getting signal, were you?”

“Where have you been all this time?!” Tom nearly whined as he helped Gabriel to his feet. “We were so worried!”

“Are you both okay?!” Gabriel finally asked as Tom swept forward and pulled the two teens and his wife into a hug. And after a few seconds, when Gabriel had finished speaking, he pulled the other man into their group hug and the fashion designer awkwardly wrapped his arms around his son, whose arms were still wrapped around the petite French-Chinese girl he vaguely recognized from the hat competition.

“W-we’re fine!” Adrien managed as the parents pull away. His father drew to his full height and straightened his shirt, attempting to smooth his hair. There were too many twigs and leaves in it for him to achieve any success, so he tried a stately nod. That was much more like him than the hug, but Adrien still felt oddly warm as Sabine Cheng reached forward to pat his cheek.

“W-why are you all together?” Marinette found her voice, and Adrien realized then that he was still holding her. He let his arms drop as inconspicuously as possible, instantly missing her warmth. “I don’t…get it?”

Tom patted her on the shoulder and said, “Well, we met at the Ranger’s Station when we were worried that you hadn’t come back and one of those things that attacks Paris had showed up. When we found out that you were in the same class and both of you were out here, we all came out together to find you, since the rangers were still searching for people that were running from that thing earlier. Now let’s get out of here. You kids probably haven’t eaten anything since this morning, so we’re all going to go have dinner now.”

* * *

Tom’s words rang true.

As soon as the two teens and their parents had left the woods, they were all ushered to the Agreste home at the insistence of Gabriel, and the kids were forced to sit and rest while the three parents bustled around the kitchen together. Gabriel, as it turned out, wasn’t too shabby in the kitchen, which Adrien found incredibly surprising.

They still weren’t sure what to say to each other, or how to process everything, but they were elbow to elbow at the dinner table when the food came. When their parents weren’t bombarding them with questions, they managed a few light jokes between them.

Gabriel’s eyebrows raised when Marinette’s interest in design was mentioned, and he questioned her about it. She answered enthusiastically and somehow went tit for tat in whatever jargon they were using. Adrien was invited to come to the Dupain-Cheng’s bakery whenever he’d like and they’d give him something on the house, which he protested weakly—weakly, because just the thought of one of their cookies was making his mouth water.

They ended up all freshening up a little and settling in to watch a movie afterwards, too, where the two kids were once again shoved together on the couch in the best seats while the parents bustled around to make sure they were comfortable. Even Gabriel.

With her mind still spinning, her thoughts a muddled and confused mess, Marinette’s head drooped to Adrien’s shoulder at some point during the movie. Adrien’s mind, awash with all the thoughts of Ladybug being Marinette and the strange circumstances that had led to that discovery, was equally fuzzy. His head fell on top of hers, and they both drifted into confused dreams that were filled with each other.

* * *

When she came to the next morning, in her own bed in their cabin with no recollection of getting there, everything from the previous day came rushing back. She was torn between the urge to groan and the urge to smile because, somehow, reconciling the fact that Chat Noir and Adrien were one and the same was incredibly easy after a full night’s sleep.

And to think it never would have happened if she hadn’t forgotten to tell Chat Noir that she’d be out of town for the weekend.


End file.
